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Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Yo Yo (June 14th and 15th at the Cleveland Cinematheque)

[YO YO
screens Friday June 14th at 8:55 pm and Saturday June 15th at 5:15 pm
at the Cleveland Cinematheque.]

Review
by Bob Ignizio

In silent movie style YO YO
begins with a bored aristocrat (Pierre Etaix) sitting alone in
his colossal château pining for his lost love (Luce Klein). Then one
day fate brings the object of the aristocrat's affections, along with
the traveling circus she now performs with and a son the aristocrat
never knew he had, to his doorstep. But fate also brings with it the
stock market crash of 1929. Now penniless, the aristocrat finally
finds happiness performing with his family. And as the days of silent
film give way to the advent of the talkies, so to does YO YO
make the shift to sound.

With
that shift comes a shift in perspective, as we now see the story
unfold through the eyes of an older Yo Yo, now played by Etaix.
Despite a brief detour for World War II, the boy finds considerable
success as a clown. Enough so that he decides to restore the family
home, despite the magnitude of the task. But even if he succeeds, one
has to wonder if the home bring him any more satisfaction than it did
his father.

It
doesn't take long for it to become apparent that
director/co-writer/star Pierre Etaix has stepped up his game as a
filmmaker with this, his second feature film. Where his debut THE
SUITOR felt like a collection
of clever gags hung on the barest skeleton of a screenplay, here the
plot is more complex and the characters more fully developed.
Considerable attention is paid to getting across a central theme that
money can't buy happiness, but without it feeling heavy handed. And
while not as acerbic as Etaix's later film LE GRAND AMOUR,
a fair amount of satire finds its way into the film in addition to
the pratfalls and inventive sight gags. Where THE SUITOR
felt very much old fashioned and dated, YO YO
feels contemporary and vital, even when it's trying to replicate
filmmaking techniques of the past.

Of
course in a comedy, the jokes are the thing, and the jokes in YO
YO feel funny and fresh even 50
years later. Etaix is obviously a disciple of the silent masters like
Keaton and Chaplin, but rather than simply crib from his inspirations
he brings something of his own to the table. Etaix has a way of
misdirecting the audience with his gags that can be truly surprising,
at times turning what we think we're seeing completely upside down.
That element of surprise is a large part of what makes watching YO
YO such a greatly enjoyable
experience, but it's the depth of characterization and theme that
makes it stick with you. 4 out of 4 stars.